Remember to breathe
by Cooper101
Summary: When monsters are seen in a lake, the knights need a way to breathe underwater to kill them. Gaius comes up with a magical potion to help them, but someone forgot to read the small print: It only works on people with magic! Should have told Merlin this…
1. The water ripples

**Hi! Another story from me.**

**Dedicated to Camelot4eva for helping my decide on what stroy to write.**

**Enjoy.**

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><p><em>A man walked along the lakeshore, carrying his bag on his back. The man was medium height, about 1.65 metres (5'5") and around the age of seventeen. His short brown hair covered his eyes and he was continually flicking his head to move his hair off his face. No one would miss him, his mother was dead and his father was a drinker. Running away from Camelot, the busy city seemed the best option.<em>

_Walking calmly on the pebbles that were crunching and moving beneath his feet. He breathed in the cold winter air and sighed at how peaceful everything was._

_When suddenly, the water started to ripple..._

_Water splashed onto the shore quicker and more violently. The man stopped as he noticed the water lashing at him. Suddenly, the water itself grabbed his ankle. The man fell to the floor, and tried to grab onto anything that he could hold, but there was nothing._

_Helplessly, he was dragged into the lake..._

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><p><em>50 years later...<em>

"Come on Merlin!" Arthur shouted, riding ahead on his horse. Merlin grumbled as he watched Arthur and the knights go ahead. He shook his head and kicked his horse to catch up with them, dead animals banging on his body and on the horse. For some reason the only thing hunted that morning was rabbit and bird.

Merlin tried to catch up with the others as they chased a deer. The strong looking male deer ran away from them quickly. The deer weaved through the trees gracefully not caring that it might die. One of the knights shot an arrow at it, perfectly aimed, but missed by a mile. Merlin smiled. They had been hunting this deer for months now, and he loved how it always got away every time.

The knights burst out of the forest and onto the shore of the lake. They came to a halt, as the deer was nowhere to be seen. Arthur scanned the area, but it truly was nowhere to be seen. Merlin came out of the forest at a slow and tired pace.

"Oh no, did it get away... again," Merlin said more than asked, sounding disappointed but it was obvious that he wasn't. Arthur turned to him.

"Merlin! For once could you be quiet!" he bellowed.

"Or what, you'll put me in the stocks again?" Merlin asked innocently. Arthur huffed and went back to trying to see the deer.

The water started to ripple...

Waves lashed up the shore towards them. The horses started panicking, knowing that something was happening before their riders did. Everyone fell backwards off their horses and watched as they galloped off. Merlin was closer to the forest than the rest, and he noticed before any of the knights did that they were sitting in half an inch of water. Merlin scrambled back as the water reached out to him. It was closer and closer to touching him and something told Merlin that he didn't want that. Suddenly, the water stopped, as if it could go no further. Merlin looked to his side and saw that he was in the forest, but only just.

Suddenly, a scream ripped through the air. Merlin looked up to see one of the knights being dragged into the water. He didn't come back up. Merlin noticed the water wrapped around another knight's leg.

"Get away from the water!" Merlin shouted, but it was too little too late. The knight was flung into the air screaming. He was then flicked through the air and splashed into the lake water. "_Teaertr," _Merlin whispered. A high-pitched scream of magic cut through the air like a knife, and the water retreated to the lake.

Arthur and the knights ran towards Merlin, a safe distance away from the water. Another scream hit them. They turned to see the knight out in the middle of the lake struggle to stay afloat. They all knew something was wrong, as this knight was a brilliant swimmer. Arthur took a step forward to go help the man, but Leon put a hand on his shoulder. They watched helplessly as a scaly hand rose out of the water, grabbed the knight and pulled him under for good.

Merlin fell on his knees to the floor, using that magic had tired him out. He breathed deeply. Leon leaned down and patted the boy's back.

"It's never easy to watch a man die like that, Merlin," he said. Merlin didn't look at him. Going with the story that he was in shock was a good idea, it would win Arthur over any day. He might keep that for future reference.

"I have never seen a lake do that, or hands like those," a knight said. Arthur nodded.

"We must inform my father, and find a way to stop this," he said, marching back through the forest.

Merlin took one last look out over the lake to see the deer on the other side of it, then got up and stepped off after Arthur.

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><p><strong>What do you think? Its only the start ;D<strong>

**Review please.**


	2. According to the book

**I feel SO stupid. I haven't updated in AGES. This is to let you know that I'm still alive.**

**Enjoy, I'll try and update quicker.**

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><p>Merlin walked out of the hall along with Gaius. After a while explaining to Uther what had happened, they finally agreed that they needed a way of killing the creatures in the lake and in doing so, they needed a way of breathing under the water. The first thing Uther did – as expected by Merlin – was to turn to Gaius. Also – cleverly expected by Merlin – he asked for a non-magical way of doing this. Not promising anything, Gaius said that he'd search the library, looking at Merlin when he said it.<p>

Walking towards the library, Gaius and Merlin spoke not one word to one another. Merlin could see that Gaius was deep in thought, and so just rambled to himself about what had happened, unsure if Gaius was taking in the information, or not. Reaching the library, the both walked in silently. Noticing the librarian fast asleep, they crept past quietly, and started looking for a book on how to breathe underwater.

Merlin scanned the shelves, but found nothing. He looked over at Gaius who had found three books already. Sighing, Merlin turned a corner and started looking down a different section of shelves.

Merlin thought back to the lake and the knight being dragged down under the water. What was powerful enough to control water and move it? The creature that dragged the knight down maybe? However, thanks to Gaius, Merlin knew that controlling elements was quite hard work and takes the energy out of you. Although, Merlin still wondered what was beneath the water's surface. Was it just one creature? Hundreds? What if there were hundreds of different types of lake monsters!

"Merlin," Gaius said, appearing from nowhere and snapping Merlin out of his thoughts.

"Yes Gaius?" Merlin asked, turning to face him.

"I've found enough books, did you – are you crying?" Gaius asked, edging closer and studying his face. Merlin quickly rubbed his face, only now realising that he was crying.

"Dust, shall we go?" Merlin replied. Gaius backed off, but was still suspicious. Gaius nodded and started to walk. Merlin followed. They walked quietly past the sleeping librarian and closed the door behind them as they went, unknown to them, the librarian just waking up.

Merlin rubbed his eyes dry a little more, walking behind Gaius, not next to him. He didn't want to tell Gaius, he didn't want to tell anyone, but... he was scared. Ever since he was young, he'd hated water. He was a good swimmer and had loved swimming... up until the accident. Ever since that cold winters day, Merlin had been terrified of swimming. People were lucky they got him to go so close to lakes. He'd only ever been in a lake when he had to save Arthur from Sophia.

He was scared of water, and no one was going to find out, and especially why.

They walked up the spiral staircase then down the corridor to Gaius's and his chambers. Opening the door, Gaius waddled in and placed the books on a bench. Merlin silently closed the door behind him, watching Gaius. He walked over, picked up a dusty old book, and started to look through it. Gaius sat down and did the same.

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><p>"I've found our solution," Gaius said, making Merlin get up and walk over to him. Merlin leaned over Gaius's shoulder and looked.<p>

"According to the book, this is one of five ways of being able to breathe underwater, and it's the easiest and least painful way," Gaius explained calmly, still slightly reading it. Merlin skimmed the page and then pointed to a bit at the bottom.

"_However, the potion shall only work on certain personalities," _Merlin read aloud. Gaius nodded.

"We won't tell anyone that, or will we tell them that the position's been made with magic?" he said. Merlin nodded in agreement them snapped his head to face Gaius.

"You what?"

"Oh, didn't I mention that magic is needed to make it?"

Merlin shook his head.

"Well then, you can make your first magic potion then," said Gaius, jumping up and starting to grab herbs from all over the place. Merlin gulped. As much as he knew that the knights were going to have to go under water, they had to make sure no one else died.

"So what do..." Merlin turned to face Gaius and stopped, seeing that the potion was nearly made and ready for his magic. "...I have to say?" Gaius looked up.

"It's in the book, bring it over will you," the old man asked, not looking up from mixing the herbs together. Merlin sighed, picking the book up and dropped it in front of Gaius, startling him slightly. Merlin then made sure that the door was closed properly so no one could suddenly walk in and see him doing magic.

"Right, once we've done this, I'll tell Arthur its ready and we'll go down to the lake tomorrow and start testing it, yes?" Merlin asked.

"Yes," Gaius agreed. Merlin paused before he started to chant the magic words.

"Are we sure this is going to work, and that nothing will go wrong?" he asked.

"According to the book, this should go smoothly."

"Should?"

"Yes."

"According to the book?"

"According to the book," Gaius said. Merlin sighed and started to weave his magic like a spider's web through the potion.

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><p><strong>What do you think?<strong>

**I'll try and update quicker.**

**Review please.**


	3. In the lake

**I felt a little upset when I only got two reviews on the last chapter, but then again, I did only update the second chapter after two weeks.**

**Hope I get more on this one!**

**Enjoy.**

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><p>The knights were in a line near the lake, all in nothing but their boxers. A handful of one hundred knights had been picked for the first trial of the potion, all knowing that it would either work on you, or not work. For a strange and unknown reason, Gaius had told them to stand in height order. Merlin smiled as he kept the fire by the woods going, a safe distance from the water where he'd be safe. Arthur wasn't the tallest knight, there were around seven or eight knights that were taller than he was, which also really annoyed the Prince. The line up wasn't good for the shortest knight either, considering that he was half the size of Arthur. Size had never been something the knights cared about, but it was moments like this where they all got a little sensitive about it. Merlin couldn't see the point worrying about who's taller or shorter. This may be because he'd grown up worrying more about if they'd have enough food for the winter or the next night's supper, whether the blanket's would keep them warm enough during the cold nights and how much money they had.<p>

It took about an hour before they'd done every knight, and Gaius only had a jug full of the potion left. He had started with ten jugs, pouring a little of the mixture into a cup for each knight, going along and doing one knight at a time. The potion worked on not one single knight. It was midday by the time they had finished and Merlin had been sitting and watching them the whole time. He sat with his knees tucked onto his chest tightly on the solid ground near the warm crisp fire that crackled and spat, thanks to the dead leaves that Merlin had added to its deathly but warming glow.

He sighed, wishing that he wasn't so scared. Looking up, he saw Leon jogging over to Gaius. He was late, he hadn't tried the potion yet. Smacking his lips and realising that his throat was dry, he stood up and went to ask if Gaius had any water, he'd drunk all of his and was brave enough to walk along the pebbled beach by the lake to get some more. Slowly getting to his feet and walking over to Gaius, he watched the knights get dressed again, a look of anger and disappointment on Arthur's face, and Merlin could understand why. One hundred knights, and not one the potion worked on. Shaking his head, he heard the end of Gaius's and Leon's conversation.

"... My wife wasn't too happy with this idea, she can't swim so doesn't like the water too much. She tried everything to keep me from leaving the house," he explained. Merlin knew how she felt, he hated the water too. Gaius handed Leon a cup.

"Here try it. Don't bother undressing, it probably won't work anyway," Gaius said. Leon knocked the liquid back and waited. He shook his head.

"Yah, nothing will happen," he said handing back the cup. Merlin eyed the two jugs.

"Gaius, which jug is water and which is the potion?" he asked looking at the identical jugs. Gaius half turned round to see him.

"The right one is the water," he said, turning back and talking to Leon. Merlin nodded, picking up the right one and went to take a sip.

Merlin instantaneously spat the drink out and dropped the jug violently.

"Merlin, whatever's the matter?" Gaius questioned, rushing to his ward's aid as what colour Merlin had in his pale face vanished away.

Merlin grabbed his own throat and staggered forward weakly into his mentors arms. It was surprising that the old man could support Merlin, but then again, the boy was very light. Merlin made sounds as if he was choking. He strained his neck to the side, showing his crimson veins on his ghost white skin. Leon rushed in and caught Merlin as he fell forward out of Gaius's arms.

"That was the potion," Merlin gasped painfully. He felt as if his throat was closing in on him.

"I said the right one was the water, you picked up the left," Gaius said desperately.

"You were on the other side of the log, that means you're left's my right!" Merlin said, gasping violently and staggering forward. He started to shake violently in Leon's grasp.

"Gaius what's happening?" Leon asked as he struggled to tame the uncontrollable Merlin, who shook so much it was as if he was fighting to get out of Leon's arms.

"The potion's working on him," he said amazed.

"What do we do?" Merlin asked, as he shivered and gagged. A tear dribbled down Merlin's face as he couldn't breathe. Gaius took one of Merlin's arms and with Leon's help started walking the boy towards the lake.

"We have to put him in the lake until the potion wears off," he said. Merlin jerked backwards suddenly shaking his head, muttering 'no' repeatedly. Leon grabbed Merlin and started to drag him toward the water. As Merlin was dragged, Gaius slipped his shoes off and managed to get his jacket and top off too.

Finally unable to breathe, Merlin was thrown backwards into the cold, freezing lake.

A first, Merlin panicked. HE WAS IN THE LAKE! He scrambled around in the muggy waters, seeing the surface getting further and further away from him. He was sinking like a stone, he was falling down and down into the darkness of the water. Merlin's back hit the bottom of the lake softly. Unknowing what was happening, all he could do was lay there, silent and still. The water where Leon had thrown him was quite deep, but not the deepest the lake goes. Merlin truly thought that this was the end for him...

Until he realised he could breathe.

He frowned. He looked down at his body, his eyes skimming down his bare chest, along his legs and at his feet. Slowly, Merlin's mouth formed an 'O' shape as he saw that his feet had become long and silk-like in the shape of flippers. With one movement from his feet, he was up straight in the water. He looked at his hands and saw that they were silk-like too and his fingers were longer too, with sharp black nails on the end. He felt along his neck and felt gills. Merlin smiled and then regretted it as he accidently bit his lip. He opened his mouth and a small trail of blood drifted away from him like a small flying snake. The wound couldn't be that deep could it? He felt his teeth and realised that it could, as his canines felt around three times as long as a humans were, but still were able to fit in his mouth. Feeling the rest of his teeth, he knew that they were all sharp and deadly.

With another flick of his feet, he was off, swimming through the depths of the lake. He stuck close to the edge of the lake in case the potion wore off. He hadn't really drunk much of it, it just touched his lips. Merlin swam for a bit at a high speed and as he swam, the water near his ears made a funny whooshing noise as he went. Moving his legs forward, he stopped. Something moved fast in the water somewhere out towards the middle of the lake. It had a human like body, but didn't move like a human at all.

However, that was the least of Merlin's worries.

Merlin's eyes bulged as he realised that his throat was expanding, his fingers shortening the black nails turning back to their normal colour. He felt for his gills, but they grown smaller and were now disappearing all together. Merlin clawed at the water like a wild cat in a bloodied trap, awaiting its death at the hunter's hand. As Merlin clawed the air, images flashed before his eyes...

"_Grab the elf!" sneered the fat boy..._

Merlin clawed at the waters more, fear choking him more than the loss of air...

_The black haired boy fell backwards and the wicked ice smashed beneath him as he hit it, falling through the hole he had made..._

Merlin grabbed a weed on the side of the lake, and tugged.

_He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe... So cold... So cold..._

Merlin hurled himself out of the water and took the biggest breath of his life. He gasped for air viciously, half his body out of the water.

_As the cold depths of the frozen lake started to kindly drag him down to his simple death, a hand grabbed him, and thrashed him out of the water before the shadows of death could claim him..._

Fear swelled in his heart and dizzied his head. Slipping slightly back into the waters, Merlin then scrambled out of the waters. He lay there panting, the horrid memory of what had happened that nasty winter replaying in his mind. He stared straight up at the grey cloudy sky, like it was on that day.

The water started to ripple...

"_Merlin! Mate!" a boy with short brown hair said, shaking him awake. He opened one eye, breathing fast. The boy smiled. "Had me worried there. Who dragged you out?"_

A scaly hand appeared out of the water and slowly reached out for Merlin's leg. Seeing the hand in time, Merlin quickly lifted his foot and violently dug his heel into the scaly skin. The creature came above the surface and screamed in agony. It was a man. His teeth were crooked and sharp, his hands like Merlin's, but fingers not as long. He didn't have gills, but the whole of his body was covered in scales. He had brown hair and green snake like eyes. Hissing at Merlin, he disappeared into the deaths of the waters.

"_I don't want to go near a lake again," said the black haired boy._

"_You scared of the water now?" Questioned his friend._

"_Terrified. It was _so _cold, so dark... so... dead. I'm terrified, and Simon will use that against me."_

"_Fear doesn't make you weak Merlin... You told me that... You still believe that right?" The black haired boy shook his head._

"_Fear is all I'm feeling now... Ask me another time" the boy replied, walking off and leaving his friend standing all alone by the frozen lake..._

Merlin gasped for air, staring up and not daring to move. The day he became afraid of the water, was the day he rethought _everything..._

_Fear does make you weak_, Merlin thought to himself. Nevertheless, why did he feel _so _weak?

Darkness swarmed in his vision, and he passed out.

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><p><strong>What did we all think?<strong>

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	4. The reason that I fear

**I'm getting great reviews, thanks guys!**

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><p>Merlin opened his eyes to the familiar look and smell of his room. He moaned before forcing himself to sit up. Looking at his hands, he remembered everything that had happened. Hissing, he stretched his neck to the side. Merlin felt along his neck for his gills, but they were no longer there. He felt a little bare without his gills, as if they were something he'd always had and had just been taken away from him. Merlin looked out of his window to see that the sun was setting and a moon would shortly be claiming the dark sky.<p>

Merlin swung his legs out of bed and stood up, falling back on the bed afterwards. Walking seemed funny and unnatural to him. Standing again, Merlin walked towards the door and lazily opened it. He walked through and down to see Gaius eating. The old man looked up and smiled at him.

"Merlin! You're alright!" he exclaimed happily, getting up and walking over to the boy. He wrapped his arms round the boy. Merlin hugged Gaius back, glad to feel loved after his horror with the lake. The two let go of one another.

"How long have I been out?" Merlin asked. The room flickered with candles.

"A few hours. You were stone cold when we found you. Are you hungry?" Gaius asked, only just thinking of the question. Merlin shook his head turning the offer down, his stomach shouting for food but the very smell of it made his stomach cry at the same time. Gaius nodded.

He turned to walk to the other side of the table.

"Oh, Arthur wishes to see you, Merlin, when you feel better," Gaius said sitting down to continue eating. Merlin knew that Gaius was tempting him to eat something, but he wasn't going to. Nodding his thanks, Merlin walked out of the room to find Arthur.

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><p>As expected, Merlin found Arthur in his chambers. He was dressed casually, filling in some reports. He looked up as Merlin started to walk towards him and the desk. Merlin expected to be shouted at, for being an idiot and having the potion work on him and no one else, Merlin expected a full blow out.<p>

However, he more wished than expected... Moreover, his wish wasn't granted.

"Merlin!" Arthur smiled widely and jumped to his feet. "Fantastic news that the potion works!" He said walking round the table. Merlin stood there still, face blank. Arthur's smile couldn't have grown wider.

"State the obvious," Merlin mumbled. He stood his grownd whilst Arthur passed.

"We have an advantage! You can go in and flush them out for us to kill them. I mean, you're not going to want to kill them are you? It would be easier if you would. We could get you a spear; you could stab whatever's under the lake! The blood may attract them to you..." Arthur rambled in joy. Merlin had been hungry once, but now he was not.

What Merlin had left in his stomach was slowly creeping up into his mouth. The Prince continued to talk, and talk, and talk, a never-ending ramble about something that he is not! Arthur's words repeated themselves round and round Merlin's head, never ending. Memories from the lake lingered in his mind, joining in into the whirlpool inside his small mind. His stomach did flips excitedly as... rage built up inside him, a drop of sweat rolled down the boy's face, and he couldn't take it anymore.

"_I'm not going back in the lake!" _Merlin shouted at the top of his lungs. Arthur stopped passing and stared at Merlin, watching him pant. "I'm not going back in the lake," Merlin repeated calmly. Arthur's face looked a little hurt and then, anger, slowly crept onto his face, and took control.

"And why not _Mer_lin? Hmm?" Arthur said, clearly annoyed. "Is it because you don't like the water? You're scared? You don't care what's at stake! People will die and you have the power within your grasp to stop it! Don't you care!" The Prince screamed in rage. Merlin slowly shook his head from left to right, anger moulding his face.

"Yes Arthur, I'm scared! I know what I can do and I do care! I'm scared of the water! And I shall not go back into that lake!" Merlin said, taming Arthur's angry face. The young Warlock turned and headed for the door. He reached his cold hand out to the door handle.

"Why are you so scared?" the Prince calmly asked, rage disappearing and sympathy replacing it. He watched his servant stop, arm out stretched. They both stood still as silence roamed the room. Merlin breathed deeply as the memory of a cold winter's day was stronger than it had ever been in his mind. Almost real, almost happening to him as he stood there.

"Why must I be the one to always forgive?" Merlin whispered to himself as he rested his forehead against the door. The wood was warm.

Merlin turned sharply on his feet to face Arthur. He looked ill and deadly pale, like something was eating him from the inside out and he was trying to hide it.

"When I was younger... I was bullied a lot. Some boys cornered me by a frozen lake. I was pushed backwards, and I fell into the lake. Adults had always told us not to go near the lake when it's frozen because we could fall through and die," Merlin explained. "It was so cold Arthur, I couldn't move. It was dark and it was cold. I couldn't breathe. However, someone pulled me out... Ever since, I've been scared to go in a lake... I'm too scared that it'll happen again," Merlin said, choking on the tears that were falling down his eyes.

Without another word from Arthur, Merlin walked out, and Arthur didn't dare follow.

Merlin walked down the corridor, almost running. He wiped the tears from his eyes and for a second, couldn't see where he was going. He banged into someone and knocked himself and that person backwards. Merlin hit the floor with a soft thud, straight away got to his knees, and started to pick up the clothes that the other person had dropped. He got up and the other person stumbled to their feet. It was Gwen.

Merlin held out the clothes she dropped.

"Clothes," he said, trying to hide his tears Gwen looked at his face and studied it.

"Are you crying?"

"Arthur just asked me to do something and I basically said no, so he had a big blow out at me," Merlin explained as Gwen took the clothes from him. Gwen smiled at him.

"Whatever he wants you to do, it can't be as bad as most of the other things he just... drags you on," she said. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you can do it."

"Not this time Gwen," Merlin said looking down. Gwen knew that she wasn't going to brighten Merlin up so said:

"My father always used to say you could do anything you wanted to do as long as you put your mind to it, and if you're scared, you can always overcome that fear," and with that Gwen walked off. Merlin watched her go, a small smile appearing on his face.

There was a reason that he feared... However, there was a reason to overcome that fear too...

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><p><strong>Does this answer peoples questions as to why Merlin's scared of the water?<strong>

**Review please.**


	5. I shall fight

**Thanks for all the reviews people! This is better than expected :D**

**Next chapter is the last.**

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><p>Arthur awoke to a heavy knocking on his door. He knew it wasn't Merlin as the idiot didn't knock and couldn't knock <em>that<em> hard. Arthur groaned loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to hear. The door swung open and Leon walked in with a grin on his face. He walked right up to Arthur's bedside.

"How did it go with Merlin?" the knight asked. Arthur looked up at him, a tired and slightly pained look on his face. He sighed painfully.

"Merlin's scared of water and refuses to do it again," the Prince said, rolling to the other side of the bed and sitting on the edge. Leon walked round the bed to face the Prince.

"You can't be serious," Leon said. Arthur rolled his eyes and rolled backwards across the bed. Getting up, Arthur walked to the table and poured himself a drink. Before taking a sip, Arthur said:

"No."

"But the potion works on no one else," the knight said walking up to the Prince.

"I know," Arthur replied. He came across as not caring and this slightly got on Leon's nerve. A knock at the door stopped Leon from speaking. "Come in," Arthur shouted and the door opened and Gaius scurried in.

"Sire have you seen Merlin?" he asked sounding a little worried. The old man that Arthur knew well looked scruffy as if he was in a rush and hadn't tidied himself up properly. To be honest, he looked as if he had been dragged through a bush backwards and then slept like that.

"No, why?" Arthur asked, narrowing his eyes.

"He left to see you last night and I went to bed before he got back. I'm not sure if he even came back last night, his bed looks untouched from when he got out of it yesterday," Gaius said, making himself more worried. Arthur thought for a moment before his eyes widened.

"He's gone to the lake..." Arthur cursed and threw his cup across the room. "Why is he so stupid!"

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><p>Merlin slowly took another step towards the lake. The sky was grey and lifeless as a gravestone, and the water had a dark atmosphere to its small waves that lashes at the cold, pebbled beach. He breathed in the crisp air and exhaled, shivering. He grasped the small glass bottle that contained the potion that would turn him into a creature able to breathe under the surface of the mysterious substance called water. He bounced on his feet, trying to keep himself warm. He didn't have to do this, there was another way around this, but, there wasn't much time to look for it and many weren't interested in doing so. Taking three rabid steps forward, Merlin came to a sharp halt, his legs unable to move him anymore forward. Fear clung to his lungs, making his breathing heavier.<p>

Merlin slowly took off his shoes and jacket, neatly putting them on the beach. He removed his top and held his neckerchief, which was still round his neck. Shaking his head, he decided to leave it on. Picking up the spear that he had just recently made, he flipped the lid of the bottle open. Looking at the liquid inside and without second thought, he knocked the horrid drink back, dropped the bottle to the floor and ran forwards. Wading through the water until it was waste deep, he then dived head first into the cold waters.

The change from his normal self to the fearless water creature was quicker this time and less painful. It must have been easier since he was under the water, unlike before. He could breathe perfectly and the water was still cold, but Merlin felt warm on the inside, making the feeling of the water weird. He studied his long black nails and smiled, baring his teeth.

Merlin swam off into the depths. One second he was looking at his nails, the next he was swimming down. He was faster than he normally was, much faster and he could hear everything under the water. It was strangely and unsettlingly quiet and Merlin felt a little uneasy in this unfamiliar territory. The lake was deeper than Merlin thought and it was starting to get dark. However, Merlin was able to see perfectly fine. He stopped at the bottom of the lake, everything almost pitch black as the darkest night. Merlin stood on the ground, clutching his spear, looking down at his feet. He felt young and childish to be grinning like the idiot he was, but he felt so free being able to be under the water like he was. He felt so free being part of the water.

Suddenly, a shadow passed overhead. Merlin looked up but saw nothing but what he could see of the lake's surface. Feeling a chill, Merlin flicked his feet and swam off to his left. He didn't swim far before he saw the shadow again. Stopping and looking up, he once again saw nothing.

_Help me..._

Merlin focused his attention on where the voice had come from. Forgetting the shadow that once again passed overhead, Merlin swam towards the vulnerable and pleading cry. Brushing some weeds aside Merlin came to a flat rock, covered in some green substance. He almost chocked on nothing when he saw the knight that was dragged under the waters. The man lay pale and unmoving, eyes wide open and clearly dead. Cranking his head to the side, Merlin felt sorry for the knight. However, Merlin also sensed no magic from the man and knew that the voice hadn't come from him.

_Help me..._

The voice called again. Snapping his head up and flicking his feet once more, Merlin was off chasing after the soulless voice. Moments later, the shadow followed. Merlin's spear dragged along the ground, lifting the ground up and making it swirl in the water and then fall back down like snowflakes. Merlin stopped and looked around. He saw no one, not one living thing and not one dead body. A hand came out of nowhere and grabbed Merlin's leg. Panicking, the young Warlock scrambled to get free of the dead man's grasp.

_Wait... Please!_

The cold voice cried out. Merlin stopped swimming upwards and saw that he had dragged a skeleton out from beneath the sand. Merlin pitied the man and lowered him back so he was lying on the ground. He then knelt down on the sand beside the man.

_Who are you? _Merlin questioned, as the man let go of his leg. The head turned so that its empty eye sockets were looking at him.

_I cannot remember my name, for fifty years I have not needed to use it. _The voice said cockily. _That creature... The man with scales dragged me down here... He sensed my magic and took it for his own... _The man's voice was dying and wondered if he would be able to speak much longer.

_I will deal with him... And I promise to get you out of here. _Merlin said, picking up his spear. The skull nodded, before resting backwards on the sand, truly once and for all, dead.

Merlin turned round to swim off, and his face met claws, blood bursting out of Merlin's cheek. Merlin flew backwards and thudded into the ground, kicking up the sand making it float and drift around him. Feeling his cheek and the deep scratch marks, Merlin stood up and for the first time saw the creature. He was taller than Merlin and more well built bodily. He had mad snake eyes and an uncut mop of hair. He didn't look pleased to see Merlin, and bared his teeth at him. As if it was an instinct, Merlin bared his teeth in return.

Doing so, the fighting began.

The man swam at him and pinned him to the ground with Merlin's spear across his neck. Merlin grabbed the spear and tried to push him off, but he was stronger than he was. Merlin turned his head and bit at the creature's wrist. The man screamed in rage and flung Merlin away, a trail of blood following Merlin. Whilst the man was occupied, Merlin threw his spear at him. The spear went straight into the man's shoulder. Merlin watched as the man ripped the spear out of his shoulder and threw it at Merlin, who dodged out of the way, but it skimmed his side. He clung to the bleeding side and cursed. The man swam at Merlin and grabbed his throat. Merlin clawed at his hand, but it did no good. Merlin's eyes bulged as he realised something.

The potion was wearing off...

Merlin kicked the man and swam back a good distance. As the man went to swim at him again, Merlin outstretched his arm.

"Rbanr bun iannd oun evfr uneer rtrn ym," he shouted. Unbelievably, the man started to go up in flames, and within seconds, was no more. Finding it harder to breathe, Merlin swam back over to the skeleton.

_You did it, _the man said, not quite truly dead yet. Merlin smiled.

_I may not be a knight, but I shall fight, to the bitter end for my friends, Camelot and to keep all promises, _he said, and as he swam quickly up to the surface, breathing getting harder, Merlin knew that the man had a smile on his face.

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><p><strong>Good? Bad?<strong>

**The fight between the man and Merlin I (personally) think wasn't my best fight I've ever written.**

**Review please!**


	6. What?

**I'm a little embarrassed to say that this has around 750 words, but it's the last chapter, so who really cares that much?**

**Enjoy and thanks for all the reviews!**

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><p>Merlin walked away from the fire, leaving some of the knights still watching. He was happy to have been able to give the skeleton man a proper send off. He was also happy that he didn't have to go in the lake anymore; it was too cold and lifeless in the depths. As Merlin walked across the courtyard, he got nods from the knights, showing their appreciation. Smiling, Merlin knew that it wasn't going to last long. He nodded back and carried on walking. Jogging up the steps to the castle, Merlin took in its mighty beauty. He was grateful that Arthur and the knights were at the lakeside just as he came out.<p>

He walked the corridors towards his and Gaius's chambers. The smell of one of his mentors potions could be smelt about three corridors away, and it was an odd smell of lavender and horse muck. Pushing the door open, Merlin's smile widened to see Gaius trying to put out a small fire on his bench. Picking up a wet cloth, Merlin danced over to the table and started to put the fire out. After a few minutes of trying to put it out, Merlin put it out with magic. Gaius breathed a sigh of relief when the fire was finally put out and smiled at his ward.

"Glad you don't have to go swimming anymore?" Gaius asked and turned to pour some liquid into a bottle. Merlin leaned against the table.

"A little... I might go swimming in the lake some time," Merlin said and almost laughed at his mentors shocked face.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Gaius asked, putting his bottle and bowl down.

"Yes Gaius," Merlin replied, but the old man didn't believe him. He placed a hand on his forehead. Merlin flinched backwards.

"You're freezing!" the old man exclaimed. He grabbed Merlin's arm and forced him to sit on his bed. Merlin stretched his arms out and shook his head.

"Gaius, I've been outside, its cold out there and I usually have a low body temperature!" he said cockily. Gaius came back over. "I'm fine, I'm just not scared of the water anymore!" Merlin said as Gaius grabbed his head and made him look down. He started to look at the back of Merlin's head.

"You don't appear to have knocked your head," he said, thrusting Merlin's head back up. "Merlin, can you remember. Who. You. Are? Who. I. Am?" He said in a slow and mocking tone. Merlin pushed the man's hand off his head.

"I. Am. Fine! I. Am. No. Longer. Afraid. Of. The. Water!" Merlin said, getting louder and louder each word. Gaius shook his head and smiled. A knowing smile of happiness and pride.

"I'm glad to hear that," Gaius said, moving back to his work area. Merlin kicked his feet back and lay down on the bed whilst Gaius turned a page in his book.

"You know, Arthur's probably never going to thank me truly for what I did," Merlin said, putting his hands behind his head.

"Oh dear," Gaius said not looking up from the book he was reading. Merlin sat up slowly and stared at him.

"What?" Merlin asked, standing up and walking over to the table. Gaius looked up at the boy, whose eyebrows raised. Gaius looked at Merlin then back at the book, mouth still wide open.

"I now know why the potion worked on you only," he said. Merlin tilted his head, showing his interest.

"Go on," Merlin threatens lightly. Gaius sighed and started to read.

"_However, the potion shall only work on certain personalities," _Gaius read, then turning the page that had only three words written on it, "_with strong magic," _said the old man, looking up. Merlin's mouth was open and Gaius could see his tonsils.

"What?" he said, anger and irritation in his voice was as clear a young boy's sight. Gaius raised his hands in defence as the boy started to straight his back and make himself look taller and mightier, eyes like daggers ready for a kill.

"Now, now Merlin, calm down... You over came your fear didn't you?"

"_What?" _Merlin repeated, taking a step to the side, indicating that he was going to be walking round the table. Gaius took a step backwards.

"Camelot's safe isn't it?"

"_WHAT!" _Merlin almost shouted, still not over the fact that it was only ever going to just work on him. Gaius took more steps backwards as Merlin inched closer every second.

"MERLIN!" Arthur called from somewhere in the castle. Merlin snapped his head up and sighed. Walking past Gaius and shouting 'I'm coming', Merlin left the room, leaving Gaius thanking the Lord that Merlin was Arthur's servant.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed this story, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, put this on story alertfavourite.**

**No idea when my next story shall be up, but look out for it :D**

**Review please!**


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